Scream if you want to go Fatter! Deluxe DDP to Drive Thru Live!

[Dr.JumbaJookiba]

Originally Posted by theCMG

I need photography tips from you, can't get anything to look decent in these dark restaurants in the evening!

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Err.. I'm not sure I can give you many. I just use my iPhone X all set on auto and hit the button. DW then takes it off me, looks at the picture, rearranges the drinks/plate/table, takes the pic again, hands me the phone back and says 'look mines miles better'

[nicolacasino]

Wow, loving this report. U are really good at writing. How are u finding the room at YC? We are booked in there for next yr with three kids :/

[Alice Disney]

I’m really enjoying following this trip report. Thanks for making the effort to update regularly & for making it so entertaining

[collybird]

Nice to see Chefs de France didn’t disappoint, my favourite dining experience of last year. I’m very sad it didn’t make the cut this year. Please do visit Monsieur Paul’s! It’s the only Signature (other than V&A) that we’re yet to visit so I love seeing reviews of it.

I love Le Fou’s brew, one of my favourite uses of a snack credit.

I’m actually a big fan of Cosmic Ray’s, I really like the roast chicken ands I never think you can go wrong with a QS burger, it’s when it’s a QS burger dressed up as a TS one (Beaches & Cream/The Plaza) that I get annoyed. I love the sound of the Mrs Incredible burger, I hope it’s still around in September.

Amazing service at Spice Road Table, we really enjoyed our meal there. We’re trying Marrakesh this year.

[YLL]

Yes do go to Monsieur Paul, you won't regret it. Think Chefs de France x 100 in terms of amazing food! Chefs de France = casual French food. Monsieur Paul = fine French food. The service is amazing too and if you can get a window table in time for Illuminations you will have one of the best Disney World dining experiences ever! So hope you will do this... For your sake! ☺

[theCMG]

Originally Posted by jennieg2

Loving your report. I know they are time consuming so thank you for taking the time to share!

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Thanks for reading, glad to have you along for the trip

Originally Posted by Goldia

What a feast of food. The Chefs de France meal looks excellent. It's great when you're kids are more adventurous and will try out meals. I'm glad DD enjoyed the meal.

The cinnamon roll is going to be our first breakfast at MK, I can't wait they are yummy. It sounded like you had a fab morning together.

Such a shame about BOG, although you both enjoyed the burgers. I've seen the Mrs Incredible burger, but has forgotten about it. I'm glad you had it and reminded me I want to try it out.

DW is helpfully ticking off all of world showcase for you, her lunch looked tasty.

Fab photo of the Mickey treat, they always look so cute and I never want to take the first bite and ruin them! I know that sounds mental.

As far as cocktails at home go. I've not made a Negroni! I will have to rectify that . I love making and then of course drinking cocktails. Current favourites that I make are Mojitos, Margaritas, Mules, Manhattans, Martini (Espresso or traditional)...ha ha I've just realised they are all M cocktails! I do like a Cosmo and a Long Island Ice Tea. I'm not a massive fan of creamy cocktails like a Pina Colada. I can't wait to try out more of them at WDW. Hints and tips from you will be gratefully received.

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DD and I always enjoy our rope dropping adventures and BoG was not going to spoil it. It was nice to try Barnstormer and Winnie the Pooh for the first time, maybe not the obvious rides for a 12yo but I'm trying to show her that it's not just about the thrill rides. The Mrs Incredible burger was great and I might also steal a few of Sonny Eclipse's jokes from the Cosmic Ray's animatronic show (I still don't know why the singer isn't actually Ray. Who is Ray then )

Negroni so easy to make, literally just equal measures campari, martini rosso (or similar sweet red vermouth type stuff) and gin. If you want to tone it down add more gin Shake with ice and add a half a slice of orange is how we make it but you can literally free pour from the bottles, stir with a spoon and chuck a couple of ice cubes in and it will still be ok. How Bonefish couldn't make a decent one with a full bar lord only knows

Originally Posted by Jedi Princess

Not a good experience at BOG. Glad to read you didn’t let it put a dampener on your day👍 The cinnamon rolls are on my snack list (with extra icing).😁

I’m really enjoying your report, thanks for posting.

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yes BOG was a shame but we had a peek inside anyway for free so...lol at the extra icing :

Originally Posted by caitlinsmummy

That is so disappointing about BoG. Have you spoken to guest services about it? I totally agree that it's not on they can change their minds whenever they like. I was really looking forward to that review.

Cosmic rays is one of the the only meals I remember eating from my trip in 2003! Who doesn't love a burger?! I also forgot about the Mrs Incredible burger so I shall hopefully be sampling that too!

DWs spice road meal looks lovely. That's awesome they made a fresh one to bring back. I haven't had creme brulee in a while and this is setting off a craving, may have to hunt one out! Xx

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Enjoyed Cosmic Rays and Spice Road Table sounded superb, DW is a good judge. Love a creme brulee as long as they don't put anything under the custard which is heresy as far as I'm concerned.

Originally Posted by aqualiv

Loving reading your reports and always chuckle when you describe DW and her food choices

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Ha she can be eccentric at times. We once met a couple when we were on a drinking session in New Orleans (in this scuzzy jazz place) and DW suddenly announces mid session she was off to get a voodoo reading and buggers off for an hour. The fella from this (Essex) couple shouted in my ear your missus she's chicken oriental aint she. Not wrong son not wrong

Originally Posted by Disney Planning

You did really well on the rides at MK. My niece is joining us on holiday in December and I keep saying we should try and get there early with the kids to get some rides done.

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I'd strongly advise rope-dropping if you can take the early starts. Do it for EMH if on site and for non EMH days if off site. You'll get more done in the first two hours than the next four and if you time your fastpasses right for the big attractions you can do most of the main stuff at a park and be back in the pool mid afternoon.

Originally Posted by BrightlyBob

Re BoG, I do remember reading here that although deluxe dining credits include starters, mains, desserts and a drink, if the credit is used on a QS meal it acts only as a standard QS credit including just the main and a drink. A very odd gotcha by Disney.

We are actually here now staying at the Dolphin and are doing really the opposite to you, staying for the first time ever without any DDP at all and it’s a very different experience as we have exactly what we want with virtually no ADRs and very little snacking. Again, like you I’ll be doing a trippie but unlike you, not live. Whilst the live trippies are the best, I feel it would eat into my Disney holiday.

Following with great interest!

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Thanks, I don't doubt that their read of the policy was correct which is why I didn't make any sort of official complaint What annoyed me is that I booked this @180 days in January which was the same month they started changing these particular rules. I checked more than one source at the time including official Disney and nowhere did it come back with this version of the rules Even when we pre-ordered a few weeks back I read all the small print I could find and there was nothing saying deluxe didn't have 3 courses and a drink included as with the other restaurants.

Hope you're having a great time at the Dolphin we're thinking of popping in there, the Swan and the Boardwalk to look at future options. Thanks for following and enjoy the rest of your holiday!

Originally Posted by Mexy02

Ok I’m caught up . Cracker barrell we need to try yet , chef de France looked love,y but I cancelled ours due to the menu changing to linguine from mash, I never thought I could probably sub it fir mash but it just felt wrong to me so I cancelled . Might try it next time . Spice road looked fabulous ( beautiful food pics ) . And BOG enough said . That restaurant needs a rocket up it .

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Go for it at Cracker Barrel it's old school America in some ways. Shame about Chefs, absolutely go for changing menus, if it's on there somewhere as an equivalent item they should be able to switch it. I need to try Spice Road Table now, feel I've missed out

[theCMG]

Originally Posted by GroovyYvee

Really enjoying the report - it's so helpful to see what the menu descriptions actually turn out to be! Thank you for taking the time to write everything up

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Thanks for reading, I;'m enjoying it

Originally Posted by DisneyPCLI

Yes thanks really enjoying this, I know it must be time consuming so hats off to you CMG!

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No problem, I got very organised before I left so that's made it quicker to pull together but yet I am off to the pool in a moment rather than posting a review of the Boathouse ( sorry it will follow soon don't worry )

Originally Posted by halloweenbaby2

Can't believed you've managed so many updates so far, they are fab - thank you for taking time out of your holiday to do it.

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The family ignored my report completely last time but are into it now, reading along and helping out with the photos etc. so it's become a nice part of the holiday in a way I wasn't expecting Thanks for reading

Originally Posted by OB1LukeLucas

Mmmm...I really want to eat that creme brûlée it looks amazing! So disappointed about BOG but the Incredibles burgers sound fab.

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Creme brulee was gooooddd Helped that I ate it 2 hours after a meal with no dessert so I wasn;t stuffed for once on this holiday. Incredibles burger was good and a nice twist too with the mozzarella I thought. They will probably appear on every burger next year

Originally Posted by Dr.JumbaJookiba

Err.. I'm not sure I can give you many. I just use my iPhone X all set on auto and hit the button. DW then takes it off me, looks at the picture, rearranges the drinks/plate/table, takes the pic again, hands me the phone back and says 'look mines miles better'

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mystique shattered forever. Good to know, we have an iphone 8 with us but haven't taken it out the safe, it probably is a much better camera than the cheapo phone I've been using and maybe I should just get the other two to take the photos

Originally Posted by nicolacasino

Wow, loving this report. U are really good at writing. How are u finding the room at YC? We are booked in there for next yr with three kids :/

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Thanks for reading YC room is great and 3 kids should fit, the rooms are fairly big. Bathroom has two separate sections so can lock off the loo from the sink area. We also asked for a room with a bath when checked in, they don't all have them.

Originally Posted by Alice Disney

I’m really enjoying following this trip report. Thanks for making the effort to update regularly & for making it so entertaining

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No probs, enjoy writing it! Glad you enjoy readng it

Originally Posted by collybird

Nice to see Chefs de France didn’t disappoint, my favourite dining experience of last year. I’m very sad it didn’t make the cut this year. Please do visit Monsieur Paul’s! It’s the only Signature (other than V&A) that we’re yet to visit so I love seeing reviews of it.

I love Le Fou’s brew, one of my favourite uses of a snack credit.

I’m actually a big fan of Cosmic Ray’s, I really like the roast chicken ands I never think you can go wrong with a QS burger, it’s when it’s a QS burger dressed up as a TS one (Beaches & Cream/The Plaza) that I get annoyed. I love the sound of the Mrs Incredible burger, I hope it’s still around in September.

Amazing service at Spice Road Table, we really enjoyed our meal there. We’re trying Marrakesh this year.

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Chefs was great and we're seriously considering adding M.Paul now. That Incredibles burger will surely be a keeper, half the people in there were ordering it at a higher price than the others so knowing Disney...

Bet Restaurant Marrakech will be a good choice. Do they still do a belly dancing show? I believe they did at one point and would teach the kids to dance etc.

Originally Posted by YLL

Yes do go to Monsieur Paul, you won't regret it. Think Chefs de France x 100 in terms of amazing food! Chefs de France = casual French food. Monsieur Paul = fine French food. The service is amazing too and if you can get a window table in time for Illuminations you will have one of the best Disney World dining experiences ever! So hope you will do this... For your sake! ☺

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The dining committee is due to discuss it later so we'll be looking at this plus a couple of other options. Also availability depending, will let you know

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Right off to the pool before it starts raining and will post the Boathouse later then California Grill brunch etc. etc. after that

[theCMG]

Dinner - The Boathouse (Disney Springs)

Saturday night and it’s dinner at the signature restaurant The Boathouse over at Disney Springs. The first thing to note is that you can’t forget what time/day it is when you book at Disney Springs... Parking on the Saturday night was nuts as all the locals were out to eat, the garages were full and some of the outside parking was like Christmas shopping in the town centre We found a space but ended up with a good mile walk tor the restaurant which with two ladies not wearing flats becomes a pain.

The Boathouse was also manic when we arrived. We were a few minutes early for our ADR and went for the (less popular?) outside table option but were still quoted a wait of about 15 minutes. Annoyingly they would only confirm this via text and wouldn’t send a text to a non US phone so we were told to keep checking back We went to the shop for 5 minutes and then DW did what she does best which was stand next to the cast members at the podium, asking if our table was ready and various other persistent questions until they bumped her up the list to get rid of her We got a table about 6 minutes after we arrived using this tactic: 'they've done studies, you know. 60% of the time, it works every time' (Brian Fantana).

Our table was hot outside although I had the mother of all fans blasting my back and the menus would fly off the table if you didn’t weigh them down I’m not sure our strategy got us the best table but hey ho we were hungry so… Drinks we chose a glass of Prosecco (DW), Merlot (me) and water for DD.

These were good, adding the drinks has helped a little with dining plan value with so many things pushing it in the other direction. Bread and butter also arrived, this was good without being fancy and we had to restrain ourselves from clearing the plate.

The next day these helped make hotel room filet sliders

We again did our thing of ordering appetisers and being unready to order mains until the first course arrive. DD went for carpaccio, this photo is a little blurry we’ll change the routine in future to improve the quality She enjoyed this, likes rare beef. Personally as far as carpaccio goes and bearing in mind this is owned by one of the best quality beef producers in America I thought this was only ok. Arugula and capers not among the best accompaniments IMHO and she left these. The beef was good but not exceptional. French toast style bread slices were very good though.

I went for a cup sized portion of the lobster bisque. Could have had the bowl but trying to pace myself. This was a beautiful dish, family lobster fan DW also agreeing, it was creamy and rich without being fishy and I also dropped in the little pack of crackers provided. Big fan of these.

DW was blown away by the selection of oysters on the raw bar and with this being covered and as the only one who’ll eat them she had to go for this. We didn’t know what to order so got the server to recommend and ended up with these 4:

DW loved these, eating them with the green accompaniment (Cucumber Mignonette is a new one on me, taking a note of that for Beiger). DD and I were not trying these When the starters arrived we also put our server out of her misery by ordering the main. As follows:

DD’s Filet Mignon (12 ounce) - proudly serving Certified USDA Gibsons Blue Star Heritage Angus

My Gibsons "Sandwich King" Award Winning Burger - Crisp Cherry Peppers, Jalapeno Havarti, Spiced Mayo served with Fresh Cut Fries

DW’s Baked Crab Stuffed Lobster - 1¼ lb. Split Maine Lobsters, Jumbo Lump Crab Stuffing, Grilled Asparagus

DD enjoyed her steak, served medium rare. We went with the larger cut even though she wouldn’t finish it because the service on the extra 4oz is still only $2 even at a 20% tip and it’s worth more to DW than that as breakfast, see filet sliders The steak also came with a few small new potatoes that were ok. She ordered a side of mac and cheese too because we weren't sure about accompaniments. It was decent but ridiculously huge, we barely made a dent and with hindsight shouldn’t have ordered it.

I blundered here going for a burger. Probably a stubbornness error. I’d had this burger in mind since seeing several sources agreeing on it as Disney’s best currently. Should have changed plans after Cosmic Ray's and gone for a lobster roll but anyway, this award winning burger wouldn’t win an award from me It was nice don’t get me wrong but Disney’s best burger? If it is then I got a weak example. There was a nice beef patty, crispy peppers on the top, cheese, lovely fresh tomato etc. but it was very good but unexceptional. Wondering if they underdid the spiced mayo on mine? It wasn’t that evident. The fries that came with it were superb though, clearly freshly made in house

DW enjoyed her lobster which was cooked perfectly. I had to help out with the de-shelling process and had a claw as my fee. She had the crab served on the side rather than as a stuffing. We weren’t that keen on it, DM is the family crab fiend but don’t think this would survive being posted to the UK.

After mains we were stuffed but the evil dining plan made us order desserts DD and I shared this monstrous Turtle macadamia ice cream cookie chocolate sauce beast that was supposed to serve two but would in reality serve 4-6 Here’s the whole thing and one of the giant slices the server cut. After the two slices were cut there was still half of it left.

The Admiral was off duty

This was really nice. We were too full but it was basically a big block of vanilla ice cream covered in macadamia nut, cookie crumbs and chocolate sauce. Straightforward and effective, the Harry Maguire of desserts We were also able to get an expresso in exchange for DD's unused drinks allowance (but not an alcoholic drink - we tried).

DW ordered strawberry shortcake. This was light and tasty and again, vast.

The bill came, it was a lot but thankfully all bar the tip already paid for

So The Boathouse was a hit. Avoid on Friday or Saturday night I’d say unless you specifically want Disney Springs to be buzzing. DW’s best meal of the trip so far and I’m only irritated with my poor choice of a burger otherwise it would probably have been up there for me too. I would also say to go in with an attitude of be polite but don't take any from them, they tried to fob us off on getting our table ready on time and hassle us into going faster than we wanted to but we pushed back.

Cali Grill brunch to follow later and potentially some ADR tweaks.

[Kidd McFluff]

I'm really enjoying following your progress. Some great writing and the memes are entertaining too. We'll be visiting Kiki for breakfast next week on the way to Celebration so were keen to see what you thought.

What's the heat/rain like out there at the moment? We've got it 30 degrees and sun sun sun here at the moment. Perfect for our pre-trip conditioning!

Good work on your EMH adventure. Looks like you had a blast on the rides and lunch worked out OK in the end too. Looking forward to hearing how you like California Grill as we are hoping this will be a highlight for the McFluffs.

Very impressed with your level of committment to this trippie. I'd love to do a live report but I think I'd run out of steam pretty quickly. Maybe I'll give it a go but I'd hate to bail out halfway through and dissapoint my audience!

Have a brilliant rest of holiday...

[caitlinsmummy]

That all looks so lovely. I'm with you on the oysters ... definitely a no.

Thanks for the heads up on Disney Springs at the weekend, we're hoping to avoid it on our trip at weekends too.

I'm not sure if I could cope with 3 courses, the portion sizes seem huge x